On remote work: ruminations and reflections.

The Law Gazette's Mass Call special edition 2024, just published, includes my piece on how young lawyers can navigate the hybrid workplace.¹ Many thanks to The Law Society of Singapore's Publications Committee and Divyesh Menon for the invitation and support.

I share below some personal thoughts which did not make the final cut.²

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1️⃣ For those of us who started legal practice before Covid hit in 2020, and before hybrid work was even a thing, it is easy to take for granted just how much attitudes and technical adoption have improved over the last 4 years.

When I first started practice, I was regularly spending 14 - 15 hours a day in the office every weekday, and maybe another 3 - 4 hours on most weekends.³ Those numbers have dropped dramatically - with no discernable impact on output or efficiency (or so I think), but leading to an outsized increase in the time I'm able to spend with my family.

It's easier than ever to conduct meetings online,⁴ access documents remotely, work at a place and time of our choosing, right-size our office spaces... the list goes on.

So perhaps there's some value in counting our blessings, and identifying some small long-term benefits that we've been able to extract from the Covid crisis.

2️⃣ But at the same time, the rise of hybrid work has also coincided with a period of massive change and uncertainty.

For many of us, the last 4 years have been challenging in various ways. Think back to April 2020, and the all-pervasive fear and uncertainty:
- Will I get Covid?
- When can I see my family and friends again?
- Will I lose my job?
- Heck, will the economy even survive such that there will be jobs?

The widespread adoption of video conferencing for Court hearings has also significantly changed the way disputes practitioners (like myself) advocate.⁵ And don't forget that our young colleagues have had to struggle through remote learning.

So perhaps there's some value in reflecting on our individual journeys of change and growth over the last 4 years, and giving ourselves a little credit.

3️⃣ It's funny how things come full circle.

The last (and only other) time I wrote a piece for the Law Gazette was back in January 2013, and it was for "The Young Lawyer" column.⁶ Here we are now, more than a decade later, with a piece for young lawyers.

I can assure you that back when I was doing my pupillage,⁷ if you'd told me that I'd still be in private practice 15 years down the road, I would have scoffed in your face. Little did I know.

So perhaps there's some value in taking life as it comes instead of holding onto our plans too tightly, and always being open to the full range of possibilities and opportunities that come our way.

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To my freshly-called colleagues: congratulations.

To all my colleagues: hang in there, keeping fighting the good fight, and have some fun along the way.